Articles Tagged withCalifornia medical marijuana

We all know the importance of keeping Sparky away from the pot brownies. But is it possible your pet could receive medical marijuana as a recommended treatment from their vet?

A vast majority of rational Americans agree that the use of marijuana as a treatment for medical purposes is a decision that should be made between and doctor and patient. Recent polls show more than 90 percent of respondents favor medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. And California has long been a defender of patient rights by leading the nation in medical marijuana legalization with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

So why should the decision be any different when it comes to animals and veterinary professionals?

As it stands, California law does not extend to veterinarians the ability to recommend marijuana as a treatment for animals. But AB-2215, introduced by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-27), is looking to change that. The bill would put the power in the hands of the Veterinary Medical Board by calling on them to set the standards for state-licensed veterinarians to discuss marijuana treatment for animal patient clients, and it would also prevent veterinarians from being punished for having such discussions.

To discourage minors from using marijuana, officials have implemented many regulations. But in regards to medical marijuana and the children who benefit from it, there comes a question of who is really being protected.

Some children use cannabis oils, tinctures, capsules, creams, or liquids as treatment for medical issues with the recommendation and guidance of a physician. These treatments can offer relief to suffering that might otherwise prohibit the child from normal participation in school activities. However, the treatment itself has become a disruption: currently parents must remove children from school property before administering doctor recommended medical marijuana, according to a report from South San Francisco Patch.

Sen. Jerry Hill (D-Mateo) is hoping to put an end to this absurd practice with the introduction of SB-1127. The bill would allow governing bodies of school systems and charter schools to set their own policies, opening the door to allow medical marijuana use on school grounds for grades kindergarten through 12. It would still, of course, prohibit smoking or vaping, even if it is for medicinal purposes. The drug cannot be administered in a way that would be disruptive to the educational environment or that would expose other students. And storage of medical marijuana would not be permitted on school grounds.

Even though medical marijuana has been legal in California for more than 20 years, patients might just now be getting protections in the workplace. A bill that would prevent employers from discriminating against employees because they use cannabis for medical purposes was recently introduced by Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), according to The Cannifornian.

California was the first to legalize medical marijuana with the passing of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. Yet it is trailing woefully behind in protecting workers. Currently 11 of the 29 states (plus Washington, D.C.) that have legalized medical cannabis already have laws in place to protect employees who have a physician’s recommendation to use marijuana to treat a condition.

Assembly Bill 2069, if passed, would establish long overdue employee protections by prohibiting employers from firing or not hiring “a qualified patient or person with an identification card” solely on the basis that they use marijuana for medical purposes or for testing positive for cannabis on a drug test. Continue reading

Even in states where medical marijuana is legal under the relevant state law, it is still illegal under federal law. This conflict of law manifests in many ways, most recently in a directive in Hawaii, where medical marijuana users in Honolulu are being asked to voluntarily surrender any firearms they may own. Officials have given them 30 days to comply with this voluntary directive. While this may sound strange, according to a recent article from Task & Purposes, that is what the police are doing now that the state’s first medical marijuana dispensary opened a few months prior to this new plan.

According to the local police department, a state statute essentially says that a fugitive shall not own a firearm, and neither can any person who is prohibited from owing or possessing a firearm under a relevant federal statute. The felon in possession portion of the statute is present is in the criminal code of most if not every state’s criminal code, so this is not a new argument, but those using medical marijuana are not convicted felons for the reason of using medical cannabis. They may be convicted felons for other reasons, and if that is the case, there is no question they are not allowed to own or possess a firearm.

Medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996 as our state was the first to legalize. Since that time, more than half of the states and the District of Columbia have legalized either medical marijuana, recreational marijuana use, or both. California, while not leading the legal recreational use movement, has recently legalized it for anyone over the age of 21 as of 2018.

According to a recent news article from the Washington Post, medical marijuana has finally arrived in dispensaries throughout the state of Maryland, and more are opening each month. This is not to say marijuana has just been legalized for medical use in the state, but it is finally in dispensaries. The law was passed years ago, but there were so many delays and legal battles, many patients desperately in need of medical cannabis were wondering if this day would ever come. Continue reading

A recent article from THV 11 news involved some growing fears among those in Arkansas who receive Social Security benefits and wish to apply for medical marijuana cards. This is a novel issue there. Even though some states, like California, have had medical marijuana programs since 1996 or shortly thereafter, these residents are living in one of the latest states to issue medical marijuana cards.

The fear is that if they obtain a medical marijuana card, they will be on a list that the federal government can use to terminate their Social Security benefits. One patient interviewed for this story suffers from chronic pain. She has pain in her neck that radiates to her head, where it causes very severe migraines. She also has a painful medical condition known as peripheral neuropathy. This condition causes her arms and legs to constantly feel like they are burning. Continue reading

Colorado was among the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use. While it is legal to purchase marijuana, it is not legal to smoke in public. This means that are not the famous hash coffee shops as there are in Amsterdam. There are many different efforts to get around that public marijuana smoking prohibition. Some worry that a new church might be one of these efforts.

According to a recent news article from the Cannabist, a new church, known as the International Church of Cannabis, allows people to smoke cannabis in a public setting. The church is in an historic church building that was purchased and renovated so that it could be used as a church for the newly founded religious movement known as “Elevationists.” The church was approved as a not-for-profit organization and its opening was on April 20, 2017. Continue reading

California was the first state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana. This occurred in 1996. Since that time, more than half of the states in the U.S. have either legalized medical marijuana or recreational use of marijuana. California is one of the states that has also legalized recreational use of marijuana. However, this new legalized status does not mean users can expect leniency in all situations, including at work or on the road.

Even though marijuana use and possession is permitted, there are still many legal issues that are very much up in the air, and these laws in flux can make things very difficult for those in the marijuana industry, as well as patients and recreational users of marijuana. Continue reading

All Matthew Harvey wanted to do was take his 3-year-old daughter on a special trip to Disneyland in California. However, the Canadian man’s hopes have been dashed after he was reportedly banned from the U.S. for life. According to Canadian media outlet CBC, the ban had nothing to do with a prior criminal record. He hadn’t been trying to smuggle drugs – or anything else – into the country. Instead, he honestly answered a question posed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service: Have you ever used marijuana?

He’s a legal medical marijuana patient in Canada. In 2014, he was driving from Vancouver to Seattle, WA, where marijuana is legal both for recreational and medicinal purposes. He had been stopped and questioned by federal border patrol agents for six hours after they spotted a marijuana magazine in his car. During his detention, he was repeatedly questioned about his marijuana use. He did not think to lie, considering Washington state’s policy on the drug and the fact that he legally uses the drug in his home country. He conceded that for a time before he became a legal medical marijuana patient, he’d smoked the drug on occasion recreationally – before Canada had a legal marijuana program. This apparently was enough to trigger the ban.

And of course, while Washington state allows visitors and residents alike to purchase, possess and privately use the drug (with some restrictions), marijuana is still illegal under federal law. And federal law is what governs the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Although he wasn’t carrying any marijuana with him when he tried to cross the border, he can still be denied access because, U.S. law states that any foreign national who admits to violating his or her country’s own controlled substance laws at some point previously can be deemed ineligible for admission into the U.S. Continue reading